Deck of Cards
by Nxrutoh
Summary: The Isle of Cards is strange, as Arthur had already known. But his world gets a lot more strange as he enters the world of the Royals, and watches as the kingdoms crumble to ruin. -Story by Kenny Apple Cover made by Kenny Apple Characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya CONTAINS YAOI-
1. Prologue

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Prologue_

Four Kingdoms are each named after a set from the deck of cards.

 _Spades_ , blue.

 _Hearts,_ red.

 _Diamonds_ , yellow.

 _Clubs,_ green.

Each Kingdom sports an Ace, King, Queen and Jack that rules each one with grace, fairness, and dignity.

The Jokers are ex-Royals, stripped of their names and privileges from their past, their rights being abolished and and banished from the Kingdoms.

The Unknowns are citizens kicked out and banished from the Kingdoms for heinous crimes.

The Unknowns have a leader, and they're attacking villages. They're planning something evil. And nobody knows what.

These are the events that unfold and occur to the Royals.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Chapter One: Arthur_

 _It was late afternoon_ , and it was getting dark already. I steadied myself backwards and forwards, raking the soil backwards and forwards, covering and uncovering carrots. I raised my arm to my forehead to wipe the sweat off of my pale forehead. Sweat clung to the tips of my blonde hair and trickling down the back of my hot neck. My cheeks were flushed a bright red from working hard throughout the day. The villagers of Mieu were beginning to light burning and bright flames to light the streets.

"Oi! Arthur!"

I raised my emerald gaze up to meet the cheerful face of young Peter. I raised my lips slightly up in a small smile. "Hello Peter." I raised my hand to pet his head gently. He giggled childishly and smiled sweetly.

"Can we play hide-and-seek?" He asked cutely, " _Please_?" He whined, his emphasis on please extending the vowels to five times longer than what they should be. I chuckled lightly, leaning my weight against the rake.

"Hm," I hummed, stroking my chin thoughtfully. "Sounds alright to me."

"Yay! You be in first!" He chirped happily, his youthful eyes shining with happiness and joy. I smiled blissfully at my younger brother. When I was his age, my brothers used to dress me up in girls' clothes. Such joy.

I smiled softly. "Okay, whatever you say." I lowered myself to my haunches and I placed my pale hands over my large eyes, the smile not leaving my face. "One, two, three..." I began, continuing to thirty - hearing his giggles fading as he runs off to hide. I finish counting, and I lift my blazing lantern. I rose off my haunches and glanced around. The Unknown Forests looming trees caught my gaze. I slowly walked towards the darkness, not deterring me one bit. I entered the forest; the trees looming out of the darkness, my blazing lantern causing strange shadows over the grounds.

"Peter, I'm coming for you..." I whispered softly, a smile twitching at my lips. I glanced down at my feet - for no apparent reason - and my emerald orbs widened immensely. There was a strange substance splattered on the dead grass at my feet. I crouched down, touching the substance with my fingertips. It was warm, and a dark red. I raised it to my face and breathed in the scent. It was rancid and it was horrible! I recoiled back, a frown upon my lips and a shocked look in my eyes.

 _It was blood._

 _Oh god...oh god_... I rose quickly, wiping my hand on my pants. Please don't let this be Peter's blood! I screamed internally, over and over, forcing my legs to chase after the bloodied patterns on the grass. My breath quickened, not just from me running, but my anxiety rising up to my skin and attacking my nerves.

 _Please don't let it be Peter_... I repeated over and over in my head. I dragged my feet along forcefully, my body not wanting to cooperate. The trail stopped - I almost threw up at the sight, and the horrid smell that made me retch.

Half-hidden by the long dead grass, was a body. It (thankfully!) was not Peter, but I did recognise his face - even though half of it was missing. His name was Al, and he lived a few houses down from my family and I. I couldn't stop my body shaking as my mind processed the state the body was in - horribly mangled, blood spewing from his stomach and face, his insides torn out and covering the grass, and strips of skin hanging loosely from his body. I threw my hand over my mouth, trying to control the bile rising in my throat.

My shaking hand dropped the lantern, my feet dragging my body away from the horrid sight. My lantern lay forgotten, as I ran as fast as my legs could carry me back home.

 _Home_...

I just hoped Peter was back home already...

I ran and ran back to the clearing of my family's farm - and I froze solid. A strangled cry escaped my throat as I slowly edged towards my village; the buildings now alit with a blazing flame. Screams of horror emitted from the village, and cries of children slowly falling silent as they... I blinked back my tears as I forced my body to sprint towards my house, which was also engulfed in bright dancing flames.

The heat from the burning building was scorching my pale skin, the thick black smoke fighting its way into my lungs, earning sharp coughs wracking from my body. The door, when I arrived, had already been forced open, with blood splattered all over the walls. My parent's bodies were laying on the ground, their skin shrivelling up, their blood drying quickly all over the walls. They looked just like Al's body in the forest. I screamed, my body backing away from the house, before I broke into a sprint away from the farm, towards the village.

I wish I hadn't.

On the main street, fire surrounding it, were three large men, blood splattered all over their bodies and clothes. They were tall, bulky, and looked as though they could easily snap me in half. One man glanced up, his beady red eyes laying on me. My breath hitched in my throat, my feet already starting to back me away. He grinned, signalling to the other two men, whom grinned just as maliciously.

Two strong and rough arms snaked around my waist, before lifting me up without wasting a breath. I shrieked as I was slung over another tall man's shoulders like a sack. Panic arose in my chest, my heart thundering against my ribcage as he traced his large finger up my thigh. My breath caught in my throat, and suddenly I forgot how to breathe.

"Heh, he's like a twig." I heard one of the brutes scoff, not that I knew which one had said it. I felt myself scowl, and I had to bite back a retort to avoid being pushed into a difficult situation... I felt another finger poke me in between my thighs, rewarding the perverted brutes with a strangled gasp and a swift kick to the jaw. The brute growled and grasped my ankle tightly. I gripped tightly to the man's filthy shirt, as his fingers explored my lower body. I gnawed on my lower lip, blood leaking from a split in the skin, knowing that if I retorted anything, I'd be hurt or worse...killed. Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks, knowing my future.

"Wait a sec," one man spoke, his voice gruff, "he's a blonde, yah?"

"Yah." The man holding me responded.

"He has green eyes, and a lean body?" the same man spoke.

"Yah."

"Does he have the Mark?"

The man holding me gripped my tightly under my armpits and held me up in front of him like a doll of some sort. He signalled for another brute to grab my hand. He grabbed it roughly, making me yelp, and studied it, showing it up. On my wrist was the symbol of the Spades, fancy and black with strange designs inside.

"He has the Mark." He confirmed, his lips curling up into a grin. "He's the one."

My eyes widened like saucers at those words.

"' _The one_ '...?" I repeated, my mind slowly responding. They smirked darkly at me, their beady eyes filling with evil and bloodlust. My body began trembling from fear.

"Halt!"

A sharp voice cut through the silence like a knife. The men spun around, and now I could see who it was whom had spoken.

A tall tanned man wearing blue with a sword had been the one whom had spoken. The brutes laughed loudly and evilly. A sharp blow was received by my head from the brute. Black consumed my mind, and unconsciousness invaded my body. I closed my eyes as my body went limp.

* * *

Fluttering my eyelids open, a bright light seeped into my vision. I blinked a few times, my vision clearing. White, the room was white. Beneath me felt like silk, oh so soft. I sat up quickly, ignoring the throbbing behind my skull. My emerald eyes were as wide as saucers, taking in my surroundings. I was in a white room, a very large one at that. The bed I was in was also white, a soft silk, and also very large.

A creak from the door snapped me out of my thoughts. I gazed up, a tall, broad man with tanned skin and honey-blonde hair stood in the doorway, his bright sky-blue eyes hidden behind his half-glasses. He was wearing long brown (very dark, almost black) dress pants with shiny black shoes, and a black dress shirt with all the buttons done up, with a white blouse underneath, and a dark blue tie done all the way up underneath the black dress-shirt. A white fancy pocket-watch hung from one of the pockets of his dress-coat. He blinked at me, his bright blue eyes never leaving my gaze.

"Ah, you're up." He spoke at last, after the several minutes of silence. My breath hitched in my throat - it was the same voice from that night! The one that had yelled out! "You know you've been asleep for a couple o' days now." He closed the door gently behind him, walking soundlessly over to the bed. He sat gently beside me on the edge, his gaze still not faltering. I felt heat rise to my cheeks in a hot blush. He raised a large hand and gently brushed his warm fingertips over my cold cheek. I shied away from his touch, a grin slowly forming on his face. "Shy, eh?" His voice had risen slightly, and it sounded more childish than before.

"I am not shy." I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. He laughed a loud, obnoxious laugh.

"Dude you're so cute!" He pounced, pinning my arms above my head, and my back flat against the bed.

"E-eh?" I gasped; sweat beginning to dot my forehead. He closed his brilliant blue eyes, a grin plastered on his red lips. His grip he had on my wrists was agonising - his large fingers were digging into my wrists, his arms pushing my wrists into the bed, causing me to arch my back. I grit my teeth together, scowling at him.

"Git! You're hurting me!" I hissed, glaring so hard my eyes were almost slits. He blinked innocently, lowering his face closer towards my own red one. His red lips were inches away from my own, his hot breath fanning over my face. His bright blue orbs skit away from my emerald gaze and focussing on my pale neck. He dove right in; his face buried in the crook of my neck, his warm breath making me shiver. He parted his lips, and lightly placed them on my cool skin. My eyes widened as he slowly began laying soft kisses along my pale neck up to my jawline. I turn my head away, a scowl on my lips, but my heart pounded against my ribcage, my face and body going hot. I squirmed, trying to ice him off of me.

"Get off!" I shouted, kicking and squirming the best I could to shake off the inhuman-death-grip he had on me. He grabbed the edge of the sheet that was covering me, and ripped it from my body. I was wearing a white nightgown that reached my mid-thighs. I was wearing nothing beneath. My face burned painfully, my legs trying to kick him in his nether regions, but the git kept moving his hips out of my reach!

" _You're Majesty-aru_!"

A large cooking-dish swung out from somewhere and whacked the honey-blonde over the head, the im-pact making him yelp loudly and sending him flying off the bed. I sat up quickly, covering my privates with the sheets. Standing in the doorway, was a small man (much shorter than me, probably 169cm) with long brown hair tied to the side in a loose ponytail resting on his shoulder, wearing a cute blue sailor hat with a gold spade on the side of it, and a dark blue coat with light blue fluffy collars, with matching dark blue tights and a see-through light brown "skirt" over the top connected to the coat. A sword was tucked into is belt, and on his feet he wore red lace-up boots and brown gloves on his hands. His eyes were a bright golden brown (pretty much gold), and he had pale skin (not as pale as myself) with a lean body. In his hands, he carried a large cooking dish that I've never seen before, and a large ladle in the other. He was scowling darkly at the honey-blond on the ground, who was groaning and rubbing his head.

" _Honestly_ , I cannot trust you-aru." He muttered, his tongue foreign. I blinked in confusion. He turned to me, his gaze softening and a smile stretching onto his pink lips. "I'm sorry for my King's behaviour." He bowed slightly. "My name is Yao Wang-aru. I am the Jack of Spades."

"You're name, it's not English?" I asked, unable to help myself.

"Ah, yes. It is my traditional language. It a land far from here." He smiled more. "Now, what is your name-aru?"

"...Arthur." I mumbled, gripping the white sheets tightly, my knuckles turning white. Yao's gaze focussed on the other man who was now standing up and muttering about 'stupid Asians' or something.

"This is King Alfred," Yao mumbled, beckoning towards the man. My emerald eyes widened like saucers.

" _THE KING TRIED TO MOLEST ME_?!"


	3. Chapter 2

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Chapter Two_

 _After the whole_ "molesting" fiasco, Arthur was finally agreeing to eat some breakfast. After all, he had not eaten any food for the couple of days he was unconscious. He now sat at the huge dining room table, now dressed in something far less revealing, and staring in disgust down at the food laid before him. His emerald eyes curved into a cruel glare at the Jack.

"What on earth is this?" He asked quietly, his lips curled down in a frown. The Chinese man sighed, picking up his dark blue chopsticks and popping a dim-sum into his mouth.

"It traditional food-aru." He spoke after swallowing, grinning slightly. "Height of _měiwèi de shíwù, dāngrán_ -aru!" He grinned happily, resting his head on his hand. Arthur stared blankly down at the foreign food before him.

"..." He picked up his silver fork, stabbing his dim-sum, only to have Yao clear his throat. Arthur raised his emerald gaze to the Jack, a look of confusion upon his face.

"You use chopsticks-aru."

Arthur's mouth fell agape; staring down at the light blue pair of sticks he was given. He frowned and picked them up, holding one in each hand. He placed each end of the chopsticks at each side of the dim-sum, picking it up and bringing it to his mouth. He popped it into his mouth, the warmth making his mind blank. He chewed once, his mouth filling with beautiful flavours. It was the best thing he'd tasted - after all, no one in his family could cook. He swallowed and picked up the next one quickly, popping it into his mouth and chewing happily. He looked like a small child eating lollies or cookies which they loved so much.

He finished his meal quickly, thanking Yao for a delicious breakfast.

"I must teach you to use chopsticks properly-aru." Yao stated, a female maid walking into the room to clear away the dishes - just as Arthur realised the "king" was not with them.

"Where's the king?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms and frowning. Yao shrugged, standing to his feet.

"I do not know," he walked around the long table to Arthur, "now we must be getting you ready-aru. We are leaving for Diamond Kingdom soon." He gently grabbed Arthur's cold hand and brought him steadily to his feet.

Arthur blinked twice in utter confusion. "Why are we going there?"

"..." Yao hesitated, his grip tightening around Arthur's wrist. "Here, let me explain while we walk-aru."

"Alright." Arthur nodded slowly.

"...lately, there's been Unknowns attacking villages outside the Spade Kingdom's protective walls-aru. Your village, Mieu, was not the only village attacked." He paused, opening the door to the bedroom Arthur awoke in. "Spades have _wǔ_ \- five - villages part of Spades outside the kingdom, even one over the other side of the Isle Rive near Hearts Kingdom. It is closer to Hearts than us, but it is still Spades-aru.

"Back onto topic, all five of those villages have been recently attacked. Laos, the most populated village of 15, 000, and the one close to Hearts, was attacked first. Only 15 people survived fire and slaughters." Yao took in a shaky breath, slowly unbuttoning Arthur's white shirt to change him into something more 'presentable'. "The next to be attacked was Kent, the one next closest to Laos on the other side of river. It was third most populated Spades village with 9, 000, and this time only three survivors-aru." He slipped the shirt from Arthur's shoulders, exposing his pale skin. He then slipped on a long-sleeve white blouse with a collar and began buttoning it up.

"The next to be attacked was the smallest village, but more populated than yours. It was Nevana, the one in the corners Main Road and Isle River. Out of a population of 7, 000, none survived-aru.

"The village after that was Banksia, the one closest to your village. The second most populated, of 10, 000, one survived. Then last but not least, your village - the largest but least populated-aru.

"Mieu was large because of its mass of land for crops and cows. And we know there was one survivor of 5, 000. You-aru." Yao slipped off Arthur's blue tights and replaced them with dirt brown dress pants. He grabbed a white ribbon and began tying a fancy bow around Arthur's neck below his collar. "Each attack have things in common-aru. The survivors told us each person was murdered horribly with their entrails removed and skin torn off." Arthur shivered, the horrid memory of his parents' bodies washing through his mind. "And, each village was burnt to ground-aru. And survivors told us the Unknown brutes muttering about finding 'the one' with blonde hair and green eyes." Yao fixed a cute black top-hat (with a blue ribbon and a blue spade on it) nicely into Arthur's messy hair.

Arthur's heart clenched painfully. "...th-the men, th-they said to me that I was 'the one'..." he stuttered, his irises quivering and his heart hammering. He caused all those deaths... Yao had turned around to grab a long-sleeved blue coat that would reach Arthur's knees, and Arthur could see the Chinese man visibly stiffen. "...it's me they were after..." Arthur's lip wobbled, burying his face in his hands.

"..." Yao turned to face the blonde sitting on the bed. He sighed and walked over. "You're highness, it ok-aru. King Alfred had a hunch you were the one they were after-aru." Yao explained softly, using his fingertips to brush away the tears gathering in Arthur's emerald orbs. "We think they were looking for the Queen of Spades' son."

Arthur sniffled and wiped his eyes. "Wait, I thought there was no queen?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Well, another story now-aru." Yao smiled slightly, grabbing a dark blue vest and applying it to Arthur's outfit. "Alfred's father, the last king, was supposed to marry this woman of royal blood, the Ace, but he fell in love with her younger sister-aru. They made Alfred together." Yao smiled lightly. "But soon she became very ill, and she passed away not long after Alfred was born-aru. The king was heartbroken-aru. The king had agreed with his father at the time to get married and raise Alfred with the one he was supposed to marry-aru. But, instead, the princess disappeared, leaving a note behind saying she did not love the king and she refused to marry him. They searched all over for her, but never found her-aru. The king was forced to raise Alfred on his own, which was hard since he had no mother-aru.

"But then a rumour came about that the Queen of Spades - as everyone called her, although she was not married to the king - was living in a village of Spades and had a son-aru. Thing was, turns out, she had had that son before Alfred was born-aru." Yao buttoned up the vest while he spoke, and once he had finished that, he had pulled on a pair of dark brown lace-up boots onto Arthur's feet.

"...Yao, don't find this strange or anything, but, my mother used to tell me a similar story to that when I was a child." He mumbled, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Really-aru?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded, "about twenty-five years ago lived two sister princesses of the Spades Kingdom. They were step sisters, both with complete royal-blood, they were not half-breeds. They weren't in charge of the Kingdom like the King was, as they were daughters of the Ace. The eldest was arranged to marry the Prince, Prince Allan. They met at the meeting, and she could tell the Prince instantly fell in love with her younger step-sister, and as did her sister.

"The eldest sister went for a walk around the kingdom and came across a man with four children at his side - three boys and one girl. She asked him questions about the children, he said they each had separate mothers, except for the twins, and each had left him with the children, either died or cheated. Her heart went out to the man and every day since then, she visited him and the children, slowly but gradually falling in love. One day one year later, she confessed to the man, who in return, loved her back.

"A few months later, the sister realised she was pregnant. Pregnant with a half-breed. She could not face her father nor her sister, nor the Prince any longer. She stayed back in her home castle until the child was born. She left the child in the care of the man while she dealt with a few things at the castle. It stayed that way, her visiting every so often for the next five years.

"Then one day, she found her sister had died, and the Prince was ever so depressed. But, they had a child. She was so overcome with depression that she could not look at the child of her step-sister. She decided to leave. She did not want to marry a man she did not love and abandon her own child for her sister's, who was almost a spitting image of her. Honey-blonde hair with shining blue eyes and a gorgeous smile. She left a note one morning, and she ran away with her love and son.

"They ran away to the small village of Mieu, the village furthest away from the Gates. She raised the son there, and when that son was eleven, she had a second child who matched the looks of the first and herself - all three had messy blonde hair, large eyes and charming smiles. But the youngest had blue eyes like the father instead of green like the first son and the mother. But both had the same Mark she did, the Spade tattooed on their fair skin." Arthur finished his story, now completely dressed, and gazing at the Spade Mark on his hand.

"..." Yao was astonished. "Your mama, what was her name?"

"Britannia. I had realised it too when I was older - she was the eldest sister." Arthur spoke softly. He glanced at Yao.

"But wait, won't that mean you and Alfred are...?"

Arthur shook his head. "The sisters weren't actually blood related in any way." Yao opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. He slowly rose to his feet once he finished tying Arthur's shoes.

"...but before we go to visit Diamond Kingdom, we are visiting...Banksia and Mieu-aru." Yao mumbled, taking in Arthur's shocked expression, guilt flooding his heart. "We must check for sure if there were other survivors-aru."

Arthur frowned, his fists clenching tightly, his pink nails digging painfully into his sweaty palm. Yao picked up a bag, unzipped it and opened it. He shoved his hand inside and pulled out a black mascara container. He twisted the lid open and pulled out the mascara stick. Blue mascara was painted on the bristly end. Yao leant forwards and gently began applying it to Arthur's long lashes. They grew longer with each blink Arthur delivered, and slowly began to turn blue.

Yao twisted the lid back into place, before pulling out a pink glittery lip gloss from the bag. Arthur blushed dark red.

"You. . .you're not seriously going to apply lip gloss to my lips, are you?" Arthur questioned, running his pink tongue over his soft pink lips, moistening them.

"King Alfred required it - and plus, all Queens must have the makeup," Yao giggled a bit, "except the males don't need the eyeshadow or the blush-aru." Arthur's cheeks heated up at his words.

Arthur parted his lips to speak, but a loud shout interrupted the conversation between the Queen and Jack.

" _Yao!_ " A loud shout echoed throughout the halls, causing said man to cringe, and Arthur to frown in annoyance.

"Yes, Alfred?" The Chinese man muttered, raising to his feet. Arthur stared in annoyance, raising a large brow as the over-active childish King bounded into the room.

"Is my Queen ready ye-" the honey blonde broke off, his periwinkle eyes wide in astonishment. His mouth hung agape as he ran his gaze over Arthur's attire. "Wow Artie, you look. . .amazing." At those words Alfred spoke, the small blonde's blood rushed to his face in a hot blush.

"...I do?" He grunted, raising one impressive brow. "Honestly, lad, I don't see how," he muttered, "pervert," he added under his breath.

"Heh," Alfred mused, plonking himself beside Arthur on the bed and crossing one leg over the other, and wrapping an arm around Arthur's slim shoulders (Arthur hunching his shoulders to shrink away from the boisterous King), "if ya think imma pervert, wait 'till ya see Francis, the King of Diamonds."

Yao laughed into his hand, his cheeks going slightly red.

Arthur's brow twitched in pure annoyance - "...How could my life possibly get any worse?" He rolled his emerald eyes to match his sarcastic tone.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Chapter Three: Alfred_

 _We sat in the_ carriage which travelled through Spades on our way to the Gates. My little blonde Queen, Arthur, sat beside me, his face pressed to the glass like a child, taking in the sights of the gorgeous Kingdom. His hot breath fogged up the cool glass, his emerald eyes wide with interest and fascination.

"Dude, you act like you've never been here before?" I snickered lightly, my lips curled upwards in a smirk. His face pulled away from the glass, his emerald eyes that were once wide and filled with curiosity, were now cold and pissed, curved into a glare. God, he looked so cute when he was pissed at me!

"I haven't." He hissed, crossing his arms over his chest and copying the movements with his leg - one nice leg crossing over the other, definitely bringing out his nice thighs. I blinked, actually processing what he had said.

"Eh?! What?! You're from Spades, aren't you?!" I shrieked, flailing my arms like a hyperactive bird. He smirked slightly towards my reaction.

"Well, I did live here for five years when I was younger - but then we moved to Mieu and never left," he whispered softly, half-lidding his eyes, like he was reminiscing on the past, "we used to grow vegetables and milk cows for milk and cheese and yoghurt and we'd transport it to the Gate, but we'd never go inside." He spoke softly, his eyes glazing over with fresh tears.

I frowned sadly. I never knew my mother, she died at my birth, but thing is, I'm sort of glad she died when she did. If she died while I was a young child, I'd just miss her and never get over it, but since I never knew here, I can't grieve over her. I wish I knew her, yes, but I don't miss her. But with Artie here, his parents were murdered and he saw their bodies and he's just... Hold up, I don't know how old my own Queen is! Shit!

"Hey Artie, how old are you? I gotta know how old my Queen is~" I wiggled a finger at him when I spoke the word 'Queen'. I sent a flirtatious wink his way, and to my delight, his cheeks reddened to a cute cherry colour.

"For one - it's Arthur, not Artie," he snapped, shooting a glare at me. I placed my hand over my thumping heart, feigning a hurt look. "And two - I am not your Queen."

"Yet~ you will be, my princess-for-now~!" I grinned. Okay, so I lost my flirty ways once I got to 'princess'. But hey, I'll laugh about it later. Arthur huffed and puffed his bright red cheeks out in anger, his pink lips pressed together into a pout, and his hands curled into fists.

"I'm not a girl." He hissed, his body shaking from anger. "So please refrain from treating me like one."

"Sorry dude." I grinned, crossing my arms. He turned his back to me, his face staring back out the glass window. "It's a beautiful Kingdom, isn't it?" I asked quietly, my bright blue gaze watching his mop of golden blonde hair nod slowly up and down.

"It is."

No more words were exchanged between us.

Words did not pass our tongues until we reached the interval between Main Road and Interval Road. He stared at me.

"Does Yao know which way to go?" He questioned, emerald eyes going wide. Blue smudges of mascara marked his pale cheeks beneath his large orbs, and blue glitter had collected in his lashes.

"Of course." I said. But I wasn't too certain anymore. We had stopped, but why? We already fed the horses and stocked up on food at Interval Bypass. It caught me off guard as strange. I rose to my feet and opened the carriage door. Movement behind me told me that Artie was following my move. "No, stay inside." I mumbled, climbing out of the carriage and closing the door behind me. He shot me a slight glare but did not argue.

"Yao," I called, walking to the front beside our pure white horses. Yao stared at me from his perch with wide golden eyes.

"Sire! Jokers-aru!" He pointed ahead to the road, and indeed he was correct. Three men stood on the dirt road before us - wearing black patterned clothing. One had silver-white hair, and was wearing black track-pants with a purple shirt (with demon patterns on it and a black strap probably for a bag beneath the jacket) beneath a black leather jacket that was unzipped and open. He wore knee-high purple lace-up boots to match his shirt, and a silver belt around his hips to match his necklace. What I couldn't miss was the black devil-tail swishing out behind him, or the small purple horns in his hair. He was sort of hunched over, hands stuffed into his pockets of his black pants, hair hanging over his eyes so a shadow covered his pale face. He was so pale, he was almost white.

The second was a bit taller than he, with golden brown messy hair with long bangs and green eyes mixing with gold - a nice mix in his irises, I must admit. A bandaid was over his nose, and he wore a grin on his lips. This one wore a bright green and gold shirt with similar designs to the first one, with green skinny-pants that clung to his legs tightly. He wore yellow ankle-boots with green laces. He also wore a silver belt, like the first, and also had a strange grey...bear sitting on his shoulder. He too had a black demon tail, but had green horns instead of purple.

The third was tiny. He was a small boy from the looks of it. He wore indigo trackpants with a purple strip up the sides, with a long-sleeved long amethyst purple shirt that went past his hips. He wore a lighter purple bandana around his neck, and a cute hat covering some of his golden blonde hair. The hat was a dark purple-indigo colour with a little devil face on the cuffing around the edge. It also had little ears on it - my guess for his demon horns. He wore a black jacket with purple markings on it over the top of his shirt (and once again it looked too big for him). On his feet he wore indigo trainers with silver soles and laces. And a silver belt. And bright blue eyes. And swishing behind him was a long purple demon-tail.

 _His face looks like Artie's though,_ I thought to myself. Yao jumped off of his perch, wielding his deadly wok and ladle.

"Hey look, a free ride." The one with silver hair shouted, looking up. His eyes were a blood red - but they bled into a deep lavender colour towards the lower part of the iris. "And new clothes. I needed some new clothes." His voice sounded very familiar, oddly familiar. The accent was German-sounding.

"I agree, mate! Let's get us some more grub!" The brunette smirked, his evil bear-thing nodding in agreement. He sounded _so_ cool! I wish I had that accent! It was...Australian I think.

"I've been hungry for a while now," the third spoke finally, his voice childish and cute, and very English.

"You will not touch this carriage-aru." Yao shouted, raising his hand with the ladle in it.

"Yeah! You will not touch my Queen!" I shouted, pulling my sapphire-handled sword from its sheath.

That only made the Jokers laugh. "Your Queen? Why would we want your Queen?" The brunette guffawed. "Honestly, mate, all we want is ya grub."

"Quit calling it grub! It makes it sound like it's dirty!" The young one hissed, his tail swishing around furiously.

The door of the carriage opened, and out stepped my Queen. "Honestly you wanker! It was so hot in that bloody carriage! I thought I was going to melt!" Artie hissed at me, crossing his arms.

" _A-Arthur_?!"

All three of our heads snapped back to the Jokers - and even the two taller one's heads snapped towards the smaller one. I snapped my gaze back to Artie, who's emerald eyes were wide and quivering. His body trembled as his lower lip quivered.

"P-Peter...?"


	5. Chapter 4

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Chapter Four_

 _Emerald eyes widened_ , and mouths fell agape.

"Artie?" the honey-blonde asked, sky-blue eyes wide in curiosity and shock. The sandy blonde trembled, lean body shaking in shock.

"I...I thought you were dead..." quiet words formed and tumbled from moist lips, unable to stop himself. "I...I thought..."

The smaller look-alike of Arthur averted his brilliant blue gaze to the ground, avoiding the steely emerald gaze of his brother.

"..." He hummed softly to himself, grasping his hands behind his back, his tail wrapping protectively around his waist. "...m'sorry." He mumbled softly, pink lips pressing into a line.

"You're _sorry_?! Is that _all you have to say to me_?!" Arthur shouted, his thin body trembling in rage. The small boy quivered in fear.

"It wasn't my intention to make you worry!" He shouted back, a prickling sensation beginning behind his eyelids as tears formed. "They saved me and I didn't want to go back to find people dead!" He cried, raising his clenched fists to his face and wiping the clear drops that rolled down his pale cheeks, now lightly red from crying. "I...I was about to be murdered when I hid in the Forest, but they saved me!" He sobbed loudly, the silver-haired Joker collecting the trembling boy into his arms.

"It's alright, Peter, he didn't know." The Joker soothed, his demon tail wrapping protectively around the small boy.

"Peter, I'm sorry." Arthur ran forwards and collected the boy in his arms, Peter immediately responding by hugging him back tightly. "I shouldn't have yelled." Tears gathered into his emerald eyes as he hugged the dear boy tightly to his body.

Shocked King and Jack stared at them, before looking at each other.

"Ah, mate, so your his bro!" The Aussie Joker spoke up, breaking the thin layer of silence. "He's been begging us to go find out if you were okay." Arthur raised his gaze at that.

"Why didn't you?"

Both Jokers stiffened at those words as they rolled off of the Queen-to-be's tongue.

"The Unknowns..." The Aussie mumbled.

"They've been kidnapping us one by one and slaughtering us." The silver one stated. "We didn't want to put him or any of us in danger. The main reason we came out here was because we were on our way to Mieu to check for survivors."

"We were, too." The King finally spoke up, walking up to the group. Peter squeezed Arthur's middle tightly, signalling the older that he was frightened. "We were about to head there until you sorta blocked our pathー" the King stopped and stared, brilliant blue on blood red as he stared intently at the silver Joker.

"Long time, no see, eh, Alfred?" The German smirked, showing pearly white teeth. The Jack gasped and Arthur blinked.

"Huh?"

"Gilbert?! I thought youー" Alfred gasped out, eyes wide.

"Died? Was killed?" Said silver Joker spoke, snickering. "Nah, as we did to Peter here," he pointed a thumb to the small boy, "I was rescued as the Unknowns were ready to kill me."

"Do you know how heartbroken Ivan was?! Still is-aru?!" The Jack growled out, placing his hands on his slim hips.

"I told him that day that I wasn't going back to Hearts," Gilbert mumbled, "I didn't belong there ー not after my vati chose West over me to be King." A forlorn and pained look crossed the former Heart's face.

"I'm confused though..." Arthur spoke after several moments of bitter silence.

"About what, mate?" The Aussie answered.

"How did Peter become a Joker? How do people become a Joker?" He questioned, Peter letting go of him.

"Ya see, mate, Gil and I were both outcasts of our Kingdoms ー he was a Royal, I was supposed to be an Ace." The Aussie spoke, moving his collar aside, and imprinted on his tanned skin was a Club, with black ink swirling out in very defined details and swirls. "I was the next Ace ofClubs. But the Queen thought my mate, would be better for the Kingdom of War and Luck." He frowned, fixing his collar. "So I left and joined the Jokers ー and as soon as ya join, you grow a demon tail and ears."

"I was the next King, but by brudder was chosen over myself, although I'm older than him." Gilbert smiled sadly, it was forced.

"And how old are you exactly?" Alfred asked, raising a brow.

"I'm twenty-two. Brudder is eighteen." Gilbert answered, folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh, you're only a year younger than I," Arthur blinked, surprised. He had thought Gilbert would have been much older than him.

"And seven years younger than me-aru." Yao grinned. All eyes fell on him and widened.

"Dude you look younger than Artie though!" Alfred shrieked, yanking on the Chinese man's hair.

"OW!" He yelped.

"Listen, we should get going now." The Aussie interrupted, "it's getting late and the Unknowns will be out for blood." He held Peter's hand tightly. "Ah, yeah, the name is Christian by the way. Christian Jett." He grinned and motioned to the bear on his back. "And this is Kapula the koala."

"What's a koala? It looks like a bear!" Alfred blurted out like the annoying lad he is.

"He's a marsupial!" Christian snapped, his nostrils flaring.

"And I'm Arthur, as you might know. And I already know his name now, too." The Spade Queen gestured to Gilbert.

"I'm the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt from Prussia!" He grinned, grabbing onto Peter's other hand.

"And I'm a Peter Kirkland." Peter grinned cutely, his blue eyes shining. Arthur smiled delicately and turned to back to the carriage.

"Take good care of him." He smiled and spoke to the two Jokers.

"Will do!" They walked back into the Forest and melted into the pitch blackness.

"Get back into the carriage-aru," Yao turned and pushed his King towards the blue carriage, "we'll continue to Mieu and sleep there."

As soon as they got in the delicate carriage, the to-be Queen curled up in the corner and closed his eyes slowly.

"Artie," said Queen fluttered open his eyes to see the King with his arms open. "C'mere and sleep." Arthur hesitated, but he crawled along the seat, feeling the carriage begin to move along the dirt road, towards the King before setting himself on the King's soft lap and leaning his head delicately against his chest. He balled a fistful of Alfred's shirt in his hand as the man's strong arms cradled his petite body, cradling him. A mighty heartbeat jumped beneath his skin, a soothing sound in Arthur's mind. He began counting the heartbeats, as his eyes slipped shut and he lost his mind to the dreams.

︎

The King stared lovingly down at his Queen as the new morning's rays shone through the curtains of the carriage. They had not yet arrived in Mieu, but they continued travelling all night. And Alfred continued watching his Arthur all night long. Alfred could remember vividly what Arthur's face looked like when he slept in the dark.

 _The bright white light of the New Moon shone through the curtain and illuminating Arthur's pale skin, he almost looked like marble. His long eyelashes cast shadows along his cheeks and his mop of messy hair fell over his eyes adding to the dreamy bed head. His legs were resting on the side of Alfred, his butt directly over his crotch and his torso against his, his head against his chest, and his fists against his chest. He looked like a child, a lonely, sad child._

Now, Arthur's hair shone in the golden rays, and the glitter from the makeup sparkled on the pale skin of his face and rosy cheeks. His pink lips were moist due to him licking them all night long. Alfred totally would have kissed him awake but knowing Arthur he'd probably get punched in the face (it happened when they got back in the carriage after meeting the Jokers...). Alfred stroked Arthur's hair softly with one hand, and his other hand rested against his back, holding him upright.

A certain dirty thought struck his mind. A hot blush dusted his cheeks as he slowly began stroking his other hand up Arthur's back. He used his forefinger to stroke down the spine, causing Arthur to shiver and arch his back away from the hand. Alfred's face heated more, as blood quickly began travelling to his groin. He rubbed Arthur's lower back, slowly inching his hand lower to the top of his ass, and slowly slipped his fingers down to the round ass, lightly groping it. Arthur whined loudly, his eyes snapping open.

Emerald stared into panicked sky blue until Arthur smacked Alfred on the head in a karate-chop motion.

" _You bloody pervert_!" He shouted, scrambling off of the King. Alfred breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, he was inhumanly strong, and Arthur weighed nothing to him, but it still hurt after a whole night.

"Aha see?!" He feigned a hero laugh. "I woke you up! That was my plan!" His face was red and he feigned innocence.

"You are a terrible liar." Arthur muttered, rubbing his knuckles, eyeing Alfred dangerously.

"You're Majesty, we are here-aru!"


	6. Chapter 5

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Chapter Five: Arthur_

 _The smoke cascading_ from the ash buildings caused my lungs to choke up, tears threatening to fall. I fell to my knees, holding back a sob of despair.

Burnt bodies scattered across the ground, the stench of death intoxicating. Dried blood had been splashed across the walls of charcoal homes, and knives and weapons lay uselessly across the ground.

I felt tears dripping down my cheeks, and sky blue eyes watching my moves.

"Artie...?" The King questioned, his voice low. I shook my head, standing to my feet quickly. I hastily rubbed my eyes, adjusting my bow.

"I'm fine." I muttered, my feet automatically dragging me to my home. My _old_ and _dead_ home now.

I made my way there, avoiding the bodies of children I had once known, and men my brothers had hoped to escape with, and women my sister had been friends with.

I pushed open my front door, the black ash coating my hand instantly. The smell of ash and death reeked strongly here - probably because there were six bodies inside. I walked into my old family room, the paintings of us shrivelled up, blood splattered along the floor and walls, and the body of my father on the floor, head pulled from his body, and his skin black and melted. I covered my mouth feeling my stomach churn. I pushed the feeling away, walking into the old kitchen. It was destroyed by the flames, nothing even worth keeping left. My mother's body was still standing against the counter, her arms torn from her black body, head down on the counter and body slumped. I wiped my eyes, feeling a hand land upon my trembling shoulder. I jumped slightly, but I knew it was just Alfred. He whispered soothing words softly to me, but I paid to heed to them. I shrugged his hand off and walked to our old bedrooms.

Adie's was the first one I saw. His body had been in the bed, burnt, melted, his face screwed up in pain. Clearly he died of suffocation before being burnt to death. I frowned sadly, before walking to the twins' room. I opened the door, and the window was open, the twins' bodies collapsed at the base. They died of suffocation, too, before they could make it out. Their orange hair was burnt and gone, only minimal strands remaining, their skin grey and burnt. I looked away and walked to Alwyn's room. I pushed open the door, and his body was lying on the floor, unscathed, like he was just asleep. I knew he only died of suffocation and not burnt at all.

I bit back tears as I heard my name being called from another room.

"Yes?" I walked to wear Alfred was calling from, and I stopped dead in my tracks. My room.

He held up a doll. It's face had been burnt and melted, it's hair burnt off and it's dress black, and I wiped my eyes.

"This was your room, wasn't it?" He asked, looking around. My precious magic books I treasured so much had all been destroyed beyond recognition, and my bed was a pile of ash.

Everything I held dear was gone. And I could do nothing to stop it.

I grasped at my heart that throbbed painfully, before falling to my knees, not caring if soot and ash coated my knees.

"Why... _why_?!" I screamed, tears finally pouring down my cheeks. I knew my mascara was running blue lines down my cheeks, and that my face looked a mess, but I couldn't care less. I just couldn't care anymore. I was hurting so much I felt numb. I couldn't feel Alfred as he gently helped me to my feet. I couldn't feel him grasping my hand gently and stroking it soothingly. I couldn't even feel his sweet breath against my neck as he whispered soft and kind words to me.

I knew he felt horribly, and sympathetic - he didn't pity me, I could tell. He knew there was nothing he could do now.

"Arthur, I swear I won't let anything happen to you," his voice whispered in my ear, lips barely brushing the shell. A shiver shot down my spine as I subconsciously leant into him, letting him carry my weight.

He lead me from the house, back to the carriage - only to see Yao in a full panic.

"Your Majesty's-aru!" He shouted, jumping out of the carriage. "Unknowns have surrounded us!"

And indeed the Chinese Jack was correct. Huge Unknown brutes had encircled the golden carriage, with smirks twisted onto their ugly features and sharp weapons at hand.

"Hey, it's the cute blonde from the other night!" One shouted, grinning maliciously at me. I bared my teeth and hurriedly wiped my eyes. Alfred grabbed the sapphire handle of his silver sword and released it from it's sheath.

"No! We leave! It not good idea do fight-aru!" Yao shouted, shoving the king and I into the carriage. "Don't worry I got this." And he shut the door.

The carriage rolled on, my emerald eyes staring out the window. Alfred was beside me, head laid upon my lap with his face buried in my stomach. He practically stayed up all night last night, so I was letting him sleep while we travelled from Mieu to Diamond.

A grunt escaped Alfred's red lips as he rolled onto his back, his face now facing up. I blinked and stared at his face. He had such a baby face, with smooth skin and bright child-like blue eyes with honey-blonde hair and a cute cowlick, but he was tanned with a sharp jawline and a very masculine voice (when he didn't whine). He was quite handsome, if I do say so myself. I stroked his hair softly, humming a soft song my mother used to sing to me to soothe him to sleep.

"Just sleep," I whispered softly as he finally completely drifted off.

We would reach Diamond in two more days.


	7. Chapter 6

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Chapter Six_

It was noon by the time the beautiful carriage reached the tall golden gates of the Kingdom of Diamonds. The gates were white, with gold trimming the edges and in large letters spelt out the word " _Diamonds_ " in sparkling gold.

Arthur stared at it in awe - emerald eyes wide with fascination. "Even the gates look beautiful..." He stated softly to himself. Alfred caught the whisper, though, and he crossed his arms and pouted like a child.

"Just because it's the Kingdom of wealth doesn't make everything it makes beautiful," he muttered. Arthur laughed and grinned slightly.

"Jealous much?"* He smirked.

The carriage travelled through the Kingdom - Arthur staring in awe at the beautiful golden homes. They all seemed to be made from gold or gold-like materials, and were glittery and sparkling in the evening sunlight.

They arrived at the palace. Arthur stared as Yao helped him out of the carriage.

Tall, perfectly white turrets and walls outlined with gold and the roofs were gold. It matched the walls. Arthur stared in awe as the huge golden doors opened - and out stepped two Royals and an Ace and a Jack.

The Queen was a small, petite young girl with chin length sandy blonde hair. Her eyes were a grass green and very large, adding to her innocent look. She wore a white long sleeve blouse with puffy sleeves around her wrists with a black vest that was cut low over the top. She wore a yellow skirt that was loose and sort of curved out and ended at her knees with a white-transparent skirt over the top that curved out more (but ended at the back tied with a large white ribbon around her waist ended in a bow). On her feet she wore black knee-high lace-up boots. In her hair she had a red rose garland crown with golden diamonds in the centre of each rose. Her skin was pale and on her face she wore gold dusted eyeshadow with gold and silver sparkles all around her eyes. Her lashes were thick and long tipped in gold mascara, pink blush upon her cute cheeks and pink lip gloss sparkling upon her lips.

The Jack beside her was just a bit taller than the Queen with the same styled sandy-blonde hair and dark green large but narrowed eyes. He wore red lace-up pants that ended halfway down his shins with white socks starting beneath the pants with black shoes with gold buckles. His shirt was a matching long-sleeve red shirt with puffy sleeves with a white lace-up shirt beneath. He had a golden necklace around his neck in the shape of a diamond. And on his head was a small red hat.

The Ace was taller than the Jack & King but shorter than Alfred with neat light brown hair and square glasses. His eyes were a sky blue - like Alfred's - and were bright with knowledge. He wore a white long-sleeve button-up shirt with frills at the wrists. Over the top he wore a golden vest with bright gold clips holding it together at the centre. His pants were black and long, but not skin-tight. They were baggy and were tucked into his gold knee-high lace-up boots with silver laces. A silver belt lay around his hips, holding his pants in place, matching his silver squared glasses. He had a necklace around his neck - and dangling in the centre was a tiny golden key with diamonds coating the handle.

The King was taller than Yao, the Queen and the Jack, the same height as Arthur, but shorter than Alfred and the Ace, with chin-length wavy silky golden-blonde hair. His eyes were a turquoise blue and sparkled with mischievousness. Upon his head lay a red and golden crown adjusted to the side a bit - the gold coated in diamonds. He wore a golden shirt with a sparkly red coat that wasn't buttoned up and reached his ankles over the top. He wore sparkly red pants that came over the top of white socks that went into his golden heels (like the pair that look like ladies shoes but are actually old men ones from like ages ago). He also had diamond and gold rings on a finger of each hand with a matching diamond necklace around his neck.

The Queen stepped forwards, holding a flower garland made up of blue roses with sapphires in the centre. She beckoned Arthur forwards.

"Good evening," she spoke. Her voice was sweet and innocent like a child's, with a small Western European accent in there. "I made this for you, new Queen of Spades." Arthur felt his cheeks heat up, but he still walked up to the Queen and bowed his head so she could place it atop of his messy mop. "My name is Lili Zwingli, and I am the Queen of Diamonds."

"I am Arthur Kirkland and..." He trailed off, uncertain. "I'm not _technically_ the Queen of Spades yet." He chuckled. Lili giggled a bit and smiled sweetly.

"I'll be sure to have the maids help out with your make-up," she winked. Arthur touched his fingertips to his cheeks. Oh yes, two days ago he was practically bawling his eyes out, of course his face would look a mess.

"Oh, I must look a mess, don't I?" He laughed humourlessly.

"Don't worry. I know you stopped by Mieu, so I understand." She smiled fondly. The Jack beside her cleared his throat.

"I am Vasch Zwingli - the Jack of Spades." The Jack grumbled. His voice was sort of gruff, but not deep. And it had a much stronger (but not too strong) accent than the Queen.

"Zwingli? You're siblings?" Arthur questioned, looking between the two. Now that he thought about it - they both looked similar. Same hair colour and style, same large eyes and eye colour, and same accent.

"Ja," Vasch nodded, not smiling. Lili giggled.

"He's not very sociable," she stated. Arthur nodded in understanding. The Ace smiled at him and bowed deeply.

"I am Eduardo von Bock - the Ace of Diamonds." He stood straight and adjusted his glasses. His accent was Estonian (Eastern European accent) and his voice was very smooth like butter. "I am very honoured to make you acquaintance." He smiled again. Arthur nodded and smiled back.

"And you, too, Eduardo." He greeted. Arthur turned to look at his left to see Alfred hugging Lili and giving her a kiss on the forehead, and Yao shaking hands with Vasch. Arthur moved to stand before the King of Diamonds.

"Ah, _bonjour_ _mon ami_ ~ I am Francis Bonnefoy, the King of Diamonds!" He made a large swooping motion with his arm before adjusting it across his stomach and bowing. While he was bowed, he looked up and held his hand out. Arthur was a little unsure of what to think. The man's voice was French and very, how should I put it, succulent or flirtatious? Yes. Very flirtatious.

Arthur slipped his slim pale hand into Francis' own slim one (not as large as Alfred's, it was quite petite-looking too), and the King gently planted his lips against the pale skin of Arthur's hand. The Queen squeaked and blushed, hiding his blush with his other hand.

"My, my~ aren't you a beautiful Queen? I am jealous of _Monsieur_ Alfred." He smirked slightly and stood straight at his full height, but didn't let go of Arthur's hand. The pale blonde felt his hand beginning to sweat with nerves, as Francis pulled him into his body and kissed his pink lips quickly. Arthur blushed darker than ever before, not long before feeling two arms wrap around his waist and pulling him from Francis' grasp.

Alfred was glaring daggers at Francis, arms wrapped protectively around Arthur's waist.

"E-eh? Alfred?" Arthur squeaked, staring up into Alfred's face.

"Don't touch him." Alfred ignored Arthur, blue eyes cold as ice watching and glaring at the King of Diamonds intently.

"I was just welcoming him to the Royal Family~" the smug King of Diamonds smirked slightly, bowing again. Arthur tilted his head to one side in confusion.

"Well, technically I'm not in the Royal Family yet because I'm not married to the King yet," Arthur stated, elbowing Alfred in the gut ("Ow fuck!" He hissed, letting go of his Queen-to-be), and pushed Alfred away from him forcefully. He dusted down his coat with a small glare upon his features.

"Well, Arthur," Yao stepped forwards, Lili, Eduardo and Vasch behind him, "Alfred isn't the King yet. He is still a a Prince-aru. His Queen hasn't been Crowned yet. Nor has he been Coronated. He cannot be Coronated until Spades has an Ace - and that won't be until you are Crowned-aru." The Jack explained, brushing his brown ponytail back over his shoulder.

"Why's that?" Arthur questioned, raising a thick brow.

"Simple, really," Francis stepped in, his smirk gone replaced with a knowing smile, "at the Queen's Crowning, he or she shall choose the Ace. Then, the day after the Crowning, the King is Coronated and he chooses the Jack." Francis explained simply.

"Hold up," Arthur held up a hand, signalling him to wait, "why aren't the ceremonies called the same thing? Like, why is the Queen ' _Crowning_ ' and the King ' _Coronation_ '?"

"The Queen isn't normally of Royalty," Lili spoke up, grasping Arthur's hand and smiling sweetly, "it is whoever is a descendent of a King, Queen, Jack or Ace, who bares the Mark." She moved her puffy sleeve up to reveal a Diamond designed in black ink done with patterns and swirls on her forearm. "The King has one too. And once the Queen is chosen, like you, the destined Ace will have a Mark appear on them. Same with the Jack."

"Normally with Jacks it is the child of another Jack, and it carries on in the family," Vasch cut in, showing his Diamond Mark on his pale shoulder. Eduardo lifted his shirt a little to show his Diamond Mark on his hip, and Francis moved his silky blonde hair out of the way to show his Diamond Mark upon the side of his neck.

Arthur glanced down at his Mark, the black inked tattoo of the Spades symbol etched into his pale skin on the top of his hand. "So it could have been my brother too? Peter, he had the Mark too." Arthur recalled seeing the Spades symbol tattooed upon Peter's left collar bone. Yao nodded his head 'yes' to Arthur's question.

"Anyway, let's not stand here in the doorway, and let's have a feast!" Francis clapped his hands together and gently grabbed Arthur's hand and pulled him inside.

* * *

Arthur's eyes goggled out of his head in awe, his mouth watering at the sight of the many different foods laid upon the large table. He picked up his salad fork and popped some lettuce and tomato into his mouth, his mind blowing at the amazing taste of the salad dressing that was laid upon the salad.

"This is amazing!" Arthur swallowed and exclaimed, eyes shining brightly.

Francis chuckled, "There's a reason why we're the cooking Kingdom~" he stroked Arthur's thigh slightly, giving it a small squeeze. Arthur squeaked, but downed a gulp of sparkling apple juice to drown the squeal out.

Now, Francis was doing this for two main reasons; one, he loved the Queen-to-be's squeezable and cute thighs, and two, he knew it'd piss of Alfred, and he wanted the two to be alone together.

"Here, try this," Francis stabbed a piece of crumbed chicken breast onto his silver fork and held it up to Arthur's face. He gently grabbed Arthur's petite chin with his free hand and gently forced him to face the King. He popped he fork into Arthur's parted lips, and that was when Alfred blew a fuse.

"Artie!" He pushed his chair out angrily, slamming his open palms onto the table, making the silverware rattle. He ran around to the other side of the table and grabbed said Queen's arm and dragged him to his feet. Arthur shrieked as Alfred placed an arm around Arthur's waist, lifting him from the ground.

"Put me down you bloody wanker!" Arthur shouted angrily, face red in fury and embarrassment. Alfred ignored him as he slung Arthur over his shoulder, Arthur facing behind Alfred. His cute top hat fell from his head, and he began squirming and kicking. Alfred stormed out of the dining room, ignoring Arthur's insults and demands.

He opened the door to the bedroom they were to sleep in - a large majestic bedroom with white walls and a golden king-sized four-poster bed, the room decorated in jewels of all kinds. There was a gold set of drawers to the side along with a gold desk and bookshelf, too, with the bed in the centre of the room.

Alfred slammed the door shut, before storming over to the bed and throwing Arthur down onto the soft mattress.

* * *

* **Author's note: my sister and I were playing Lego Jurassic World, right, and I wanted to be Billy ('cause he's cute, right?), but she got to play him, and he used a parachute to jump further. So whenever she used it, she'd sneer in the funniest voice possible; "Jealous much?" and I couldn't help but snicker back at her lmao. Welp my story time is over aha.**


	8. Chapter 7

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Chapter Seven_

 _Shocked emerald eyes_ stared into annoyed sky blue ones, as Alfred pinned Arthur's wrists beside his head, pushing them into the soft mattress. Arthur glared at him, pursing his pink lips.

"What? Was Alfie _jealous_ of Francy-pants?" Arthur fluttered his eyelashes innocently, causing Alfred to growl lowly and his grip around Arthur's small wrists to tighten. Arthur gasped in pain and squirmed. "Let go of me you twat!" He snapped, trying to kick Alfred off. Alfred just gripped him tighter, moving his wrists so he was pinned by one hand with his wrists above his head. Using his free hand, Alfred tore open Arthur's shirt.

Arthur blushed dark red and squirmed. "Get off! You're bloody heavy you twit!"

" _You're mine_. And I plan to prove it."

Arthur squirmed around - and heard the door to the bedroom click. Arthur's head snapped towards the now open door, Yao standing in the doorway. He looked flustered.

"...I have prepared a bath for you, you're Majesty, as you requested." He bowed, shaking off the sight of his King pinning his Queen-to-be to the bed. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, thanks." He shoved Alfred off of him (who was now blushing a bit, and Arthur didn't want to ask why), and he wriggled out from under him. He stood up off the bed and motioned to Yao to show him to the bathroom.

Alfred leapt to his feet and swept Arthur off his feet, causing him to shriek. "I shall bathe with you!" He declared, a blush covering his face as he ran off after Yao.

In the bathroom, once Yao had left (after stripping Alfred), Alfred began to undress Arthur, much to Arthur's dismay.

"Oi, pervert, sod off." he muttered darkly, shoving Alfred away. He unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off, before starting on his pants.

After a few minutes, Arthur was now completely naked, and before Alfred could get a good peek, Arthur hopped into the huge bath.

The bathroom was large and majestic, with a marble floor that was so shiny it was like a mirror, with nice cracked patterns in the pale marble. The walls were pale and lined with gold, with the towel rails golden and made of diamond at the wall. The mirror was huge and covered half of the wall to the right, shiny, silver, and lined with gold. The bath was on the angled side, went from wall to wall, with taps lining up all the way to the roof, and are a sterling silver, the water pouring from the taps and filling the majestic tub quickly. There were spa jets in the side, making it very relaxing and royal.

Arthur sighed in relaxation, sinking his body lower into the steamy water, the water now reaching his chest. He moaned softly in bliss, letting his eyes flutter closed. Alfred hopped in beside him, stretching his arms above his head. Hr had removed his glasses, now sitting on the basin along with Arthur's nightgown and Alfred's pajamas.

Arthur's eyes cracked open a little, emerald gaze glancing at Alfred. His skin was wet and shone in the light, showing the shadows of bulging and taut muscles underneath gorgeous suntanned skin. His face looked so childish, without his glasses, and yet so beautiful, with a strong jawline, high cheekbones, large sparkling baby blue eyes that shone like stars when he was passionate. His smile was boyish, adding to his child-like charm, the million dollar smile that could light up a starless night sky. His hair, now damp with moisture, sparkled a little under the light, his cowlick standing proud even under the moisture.

Arthur felt his cheeks burn, as his emerald gaze wandered over Alfred's body. Alfred was a very attractive man, Arthur couldn't disagree with that notation.

Alfred looked up from his cleaning (running the flannel over his muscly arms, his torso now covered in soapy suds) and directed his sky blue eyes to Arthur. Arthur flinched, eyes wide and a blush upon his cheeks before he focused his gaze upon the wall.

Alfred's red lips twitched into a smirk. "Checkin' me out, are ya, Artie?" he winked, sliding over to Arthur, smirking smugly. Arthur snorted in amusement.

"Checking you out? Dream on, boy." Arthur smirked, slapping Alfred playfully on his slippery arm with his flannel. Alfred raised his brows.

"Well I don't know about you, but I was definitely checkin' you out," he licked his red lips and winked in a suggestive manner. Arthur rolled his eyes, and tried to fight the blood rising to his cheeks in a hot blush. Alfred grabbed the flannel from Arthur's hands and grabbed the vanilla scented body wash. Arthur looked at him.

"What fragrance did you use?" Arthur questioned. Alfred motioned to the strawberry scented body wash. Alfred drenched the flannel in the vanilla body wash and then beckoned for Arthur for turn around, so he could wash his back. Arthur turned and moved to sit between Alfred's long legs, one on either side of him, bent up at the knees above the water. Alfred began scrubbing his back down with the body wash, Arthur sighing in contempt. Alfred smiled to himself, lathering the soap into Arthur's shoulder blades, kneading it into his knotted muscles. Arthur sighed happily, letting his eyes slip shut. Alfred rubbed the soap lower around his spine, and rubbing it around his sides, rubbing his hands up and down Arthur's sides. Arthur shuddered, as Alfred moved his hands up to his chest and over his nipples, causing them to harden instantly from the stimulation.

Arthur moaned, tilting his head up, the back of his head resting against Alfred's muscly but soft chest. The heat was making Arthur woozy - he smiled dizzily up at Alfred.

"Mmh, your chest is really soft~" he ran his hand up Alfred's chest, groping the taut and soft muscle on the left side of his chest, causing Alfred to let out a low moan.

 _Shit, he's going to drive me crazy. Better get out now_. He thought to himself. He stood up, letting the water drip down his tanned body. Arthur pouted, pursing his pink lips standing too. Alfred gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing as he followed a droplet of water make its way down Arthur's pale body. Alfred couldn't tear his eyes away from his Queen-to-be's attractive body - and it was right there! He was like a forbidden fruit - delicious and ripe, but only to look, never touch.

Alfred quickly grabbed his fluffy white towel and handed Arthur his fluffy gold towel. Arthur stared at it for a few seconds before rubbing himself down, drying the water up. Arthur glanced up at Alfred from under his lashes, watching as Alfred dried his beautifully tanned skin, and slip his pyjama bottoms on, not bothering with a shirt. Arthur reached out for his nightgown, a flowing, long white dress with long sleeves and went to his knees. And this one wasn't see-through!

Arthur stared at his reflection in the mirror, tilting his head side to side as he checked out his face. What did Alfred find so appealing about his face? He was sure his face was ugly, I mean, Alfred's face was absolutely perfect. Arthur closed his eyes and sighed, hanging his towel upon the golden railing.

"Shall we go to bed?" Arthur asked, tilting his head to meet Alfred's sky blue eyes.

"Yeah," Alfred agreed, hooking his arms beneath Arthur's knees and shoulders, hoisting him into his arms. Arthur blushed and shrieked, clinging to Alfred as he was carried swiftly back to the bedroom.

Alfred gently laid him on the bed, (the covers pulled back), and climbed in beside him, wrapping his arms around Arthur's slim waist and burying his face into Arthur's soft chest. Arthur flushed, raking his fingers gently through Alfred's soft honey blonde hair.

"...can you sing to me?" Alfred whispered softly, lips moving softly against the fabric, and sending delicious shivers down Arthur's spine.

"Not tonight." He mumbled softly. Alfred pouted.

"Please?" He begged. Arthur shook his head, closing his eyes. Alfred continued pouting, until he trailed his hand down Arthur's back to his ass, and groped it roughly and giving it a firm squeeze. Arthur's eyes shot open and he gasped loudly. Alfred continued groping it, kissing Arthur's clothed chest softly.

"F-fine!" Arthur snapped, and Alfred's hand settled back at his waist, a smirk upon his red lips. He took in a deep breathe.

" _The first Alice walked into the woods of Wonderland,_  
 _"Bravely, with a fearsome sword held tightly in her hand,_  
 _"Slicing down whatever laid in her unyielding wrath,_  
 _"Leaving chaos in her wake by a red bloody path._  
 _"Then Alice strayed too far, lost within the woods,_  
 _"Giving in to all her sins, locking her away for good._  
 _'Much like the gruesome path that marked her evil ways,_  
 _"Still her life remains a mystery 'till this very day._ " His voice was majestic, yet soft and sweet, as he sang softly, eyes closed.

Alfred stared at him in shock, what kind of song was this?! Arthur stopped singing and he settled down, sighing softly as he drifted off to a humble slumber. Alfred closed his eyes and followed soon after.


	9. Extra!

_**Deck of Cards**_

 _Extra Chapter: Francis & Vasch take a Bath!_

 _"Why the hell_ am I doing this again?" the annoyed Diamonds Jack grumbled, cheeks flaring and emerald eyes narrowed. The blonde King just smirked, winking flirtatiously at the flustered Jack, and giving his small hand a squeeze.

"We're bathing together, of course!" He chirped, like it was the norm. Vasch rolled his eyes, unable to fight the blush burning on his cheeks.

"Jerk," he muttered as Francis dragged him into the humungous bathroom. Francis laughed, hooking one arm around his Jack's slim shoulders.

"Oh you know you love me~" he winked flirtatiously, tugging at the young Jack's collar, loosening the buttons and slipping it off from his shoulders. Francis stared as the red outer shirt fell to the tiled floor, followed by the white undergarment. Francis' hungry blue gaze swept over Vasch's slim shoulders, eyes trailing down every small defined muscles along his arm, down to his nice collar bones, along to his nice rounded chest (with nice soft breasts, might he add~) with dark pink nipples standing out against almost white skin, and eyes travelling down to his navel, then trailing down a small trail of blonde hair that disappeared into his pants.

Francis licked his lips hungrily, Vasch noticing and covering himself like a female. "Pervert," he muttered, staring at the floor.

"You know you like it~" Francis' lips latched onto Vasch's smooth skin of the back of his neck, biting into the soft flesh. Vasch let out a gasp, and elbowed Francis in the gut in reflex. Francis made a choked noise, doubling over and clutching at his stomach.

"Oh sweet Jesus," he groaned out in pain, as Vasch stripped himself and silently but quickly hopped into the full hot bath.

The steam made Vasch's dry skin damp, pale skin shining in the bright candlelight. Francis stripped, too, hopping in beside Vasch. He leant on Vasch, resting his head on Vasch's slippery shoulder, and slipping his arm around Vasch's waist. Vasch acknowledged that Francis was touching him, but chose to ignore his other... _advances_ whilst he lathered his pale skin in scented bath soaps.

"Wash me too," Francis pouted, forcing crocodile tears to fall down his pink cheeks. Vasch scoffed, but gave in anyway. He hated tears, whether they were real or not. Francis turned so his back was to Vasch. Vasch began to rub the strawberry scented bath wash into Francis' smooth back.

Whilst doing this, Vasch's thoughts began to wander - as did his eyes. He felt his face flush all the way up to his ears when he realised he was doing so. He pulled back, and Francis turned, a smirk upon his lips.

"Ah, _mon cherie_ is a little pervert, _non_?" He asked, sliding over and placing a kiss upon Vasch's cheek. But he didn't stop there. He laid soft kisses along Vasch's jawline, and down his sweet, pale neck. He kissed his way along Vasch's collar and down the centre of his chest. " _J'taime_ ," he whispered against Vasch's stomach. Vasch was leaning back against the wall of the majestic bath, back arched up so the King of Diamonds could keep loving his body. His stubbled beard scratched the Jack's skin, but it tickled at the same time. Vasch's dark green orbs watched Francis' mouth as he kissed, nipped, and watching his tongue flicker out to lick his soft skin.

He closed his eyes again, continuing to make small mewls and gasps of pleasure. As much as he stated he hated the King, he couldn't deny that he was head-over-heels. Not that he'd tell Francis that.


End file.
